Vanguard Group Inc. Has $794.18 Million Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,795,311 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 2,417,962 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 13.56% of SLM worth $794,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLM. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in SLM by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 12,954 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,611,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in SLM by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,175,645 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $142,744,000 after purchasing an additional 338,128 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in SLM by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 21,700 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 9,974 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. increased its stake in SLM by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 24,263 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $669,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Remove Ads

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Compass Point lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.45.

SLM Stock Down 9.2 %

SLM traded down $2.77 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $27.37. 3,227,290 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,101,414. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. SLM Co. has a one year low of $19.39 and a one year high of $32.65. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $29.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.64.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.62%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total value of $1,142,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 43,163 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,233,166.91. This trade represents a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

SLM Profile

SLM Corporation, through its subsidiaries, originates and services private education loans to students and their families to finance the cost of their education in the United States. It is also involved in the provision of retail deposit accounts, including certificates of deposit, money market accounts, and high-yield savings accounts; and interest-bearing omnibus accounts.